The purpose of this study was to create a model for the relationship between work engagement, psychological well-being, and motivation for participating in social activities and to show the effects of age on this relationship based on empirical research. In recent years, as a result of progress in technology, working styles free from organizational constraints have often been proposed. Research is currently being conducted on activities outside the workplace, including boundaryless careers and cross-boundary learning. Meanwhile, as working styles change, work engagement becomes increasingly important. Against the background of these changes, it is necessary to show the relationship between social activities conducted outside the workplace and work engagement. Work engagement is predicted to be related to social activities. Meanwhile, past research suggests that social activities are related to psychological well-being. Therefore, in this study, we analyze the relationship between the following three component elements: work engagement, psychological well-being, and motivation to participate in social activities. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey on the Internet to create a model for the relationship between the three elements based on structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of our analysis showed that the model is affected by age. In addition, the results also suggest the possibility that systems created by companies to promote social activities may have positive effects on individual employees as well as on companies.

This study examines the processes by which organizational identity is formed during self-introductions in a workshop event. Ethnomethodology and empirical conversation analysis are employed. Previously, the formation processes of organizational identity have been studied from two perspectives: social actor and social constructivism. Although different theoretical foundations and definitions distinguish these two perspectives, they apparently focus on the same phenomenon, which is the formation process of organizational identity. Previous studies have pointed out the relationship between organizational identity and individual actions, such as situational dependency and interaction; however, the ways that an organization’s members negotiate and form organizational identities through their actions is not clear. For example, action was excluded as an incidental factor in the modeling process. Therefore, this study focuses on members’ actions, and it analyzes the relationships in the conversation data of video recordings. The analytical results found that the facilitator forms an organizational identity in the opening explanation and embeds questions related to organizational identity into the self-introduction. The participants understand others’ behaviors and present their organizational identities through self-introductions. An organization’s members negotiate and form their organizational identities through sense-giving and sense-making processes.

The purpose of this study is to clarify contribution of the engineer to eliminate "the challenge which was not assumed in planning and development phase" which is a big barrier in practical phase of CoPS (Complex Products and Systems). If the subject of a development project which performed the technological development differs from the enterprising body in practical phase, the interface or interdependency which have not been recognized may appear in the practical phase. This study focus on such CoPS implementation process that starts with a national project and goes to mass marketing. The qualitative study is conducted by extracting a main organized activity and another horizontal individual activity which complements the main activity and clarifying characteristic of each activity in planning, development, and practical phase. The findings are as follows: In the planning and the development phase, the complementary activity which complements the main activity had occurred inside the formal organization. In the practical phase, the complementary activity occurred "outside" the formal organization (the chain of development with no linkage). It was promoted by highly specialized engineers’ own routine. These results indicate that highly specialized "outside" engineers are required in practical phase of CoPS.

Drawing on the generative model of organizational routines, this paper re-examines organizational learning as selecting and replacing organizational routines in the organizational warp and woof. Organizational routines are the source of endogenous change in organizations, and organizations can create a routine which allows to coexist diverse, sometimes competing, activities intertwining intricately with human and non-human actors. The embedded formal routines and rules in socio-technical agencements frame organizational activities, and their overflowing of performances in practice can cause reframing further activities. Through multi organizational fieldwork of extracurricular activities in a Japanese high school, this paper plots the relationship between the embeddedness of organizational routines and trial-and-error learning in the process of routinization. This Between-Case Analysis identifies (1) the strength of the embeddedness in organizational members and artifacts differentiates the performativity of formal routines and rules in practice, (2) the modes of embeddedness affect trial-and-error learning originated by managers’/coaches’ corrections and warnings, (3) managers/coaches have the role of embedding organizational routines into human or non-human actors through rule-making, rule-giving, and connecting those actors with each other. These findings suggest that it could develop richer managerial implications on organizational learning and knowledge transfer by analyzing management practices to approach them from the perspective of routinization.

This paper examines the relationship between communication and knowledge integration in the context of cross-functional teams. Although communication is one of the most important processes for integrating the knowledge in cross-functional teams, little research has been discussed the relationship between communication and knowledge integration. In our empirical research, we found that not only communication time between team members influences knowledge integration in cross-functional teams; instead, enterprise’s communication network also influences knowledge integration of cross-functional teams. The result shows the possibility that the communication network at higher levels of organization units (enterprises) may influence the knowledge integration at lower levels of organization units (cross-functional teams).

This paper attempts to identify the factors of success and propose the process of the interaction between firm managers and outside experts in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects by Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As FDI by SMEs, which don’t have sufficient resources, increase in Japan, the utilization of outside experts is expected to increase since FDI is considered as the strategic decision making that has high uncertainty and complexity. While it becomes key how effectively SMEs can utilize outside experts, the prior studies including the studies on the motivation of FDI since Hymer (1960), and the research on decision making process of FDI since Aharoni (1966) has been traditionally focusing on large multinational companies and do not respond adequately to the practical demands of SMEs. Therefore, the author analyzed the interaction between firm managers and outside experts qualitatively. The result of qualitative analysis (Grounded Theory Approach: GTA) presented the five-step process model including "cognition of context and trust", "commitment", "psychological contract", " deepening of support by Emergence", and "achievements by support". This conceptual model is beneficial for both managers and outside experts to understand the picture of effective support process.

In contrast to the existing core concept, this paper attempts to elucidate the process of bottleneck’s emergence and removes during a complex technological system evolution. Moreover, this paper also reveals suppliers’ bottleneck strategy how IP vendors and foundry collaboration could influence chip development among traide interfirm divison of labor in semiconductor industry. The data was collected from interview result and mainly composed of 10,000 IP from 42 IP vendors and 256 generation of semiconductor processes from the world largest foundry, TSMC. According to the data, the bottleneck of chip development could be strategically manipulated only by suppliers themselves, within IP vendors and TSMC. This relationship between component and contract manufacturing suppliers could be collaborative and also competitive in the same time. However, this flexible bottom up approach could be significant during a complex technological system evolution.

Outsourcing having been in the main stream for a few decades, some firms started to re-acquire IT software development functions with the aim to develop their own services. What are the reasons of the internalization of IT functions and insourcing? Building on the extant literature on knowledge based view of the firm, transaction cost economies and resource based view, we specifically analyzed a case of the internalization of IT functions and the sourcing decisions in an office brokering firm. The dynamic process of the capability building was shown in the case through the learning and its utilization evoked intentionally. We found that the internalized IT functions combined with the accumulated learnings facilitated as its sourcing management capability including the external management, and made proper sourcing decisions continuously to respond to the changes. We also found that the accumulation of the learning combined with the internalized resources were constantly utilized for the next activities and built the firm’s own strategic capabilities, therefore the result of the learning had to be prevented from any hazardous actions or transaction costs in the future utilization. It should be necessary that the conventional view of boundary choice imply a dynamic aspect of learning as capability building.

Accelerating M&A of worldwide giant firms in 2015 evokes Galbraithian hypothesis. Galbraith (1952) has asserted that only a few giant firms can conduct technological innovation required in the modern world to develop new products and processes. This view has been challenged and extensively tested since the 1960s. In general, a popular outlook on the advantage of firm size in conducting R&D has been transferred to the smaller, younger and fast-growing firms, which can play an important role for an invention. As noted in Cohen (2010), however, the question of the relationship between firm size and R&D efficiency remains open. Using data on worldwide Top1000 investors in selected R&D intensive industries from 2005-2014 EU Industrial R&D Investment SCOREBOARD, the relationship among sales, R&D expenditures and profitability is more closely examined. The central direction toward Galbraithian hypothesis can be identified with both nonlinear regression analysis and time-series analysis. More significantly, nations with increasing R&D intensity tend to improve the profitability.

This study reveals the factors of developing into new social business from corporate contribution activity (such as volunteer to society of the company). According to the academic literature, the social business has been discussed in social entrepreneur, social enterprise or social innovation in some organizations or sectors (such as nonprofit organizations), however these are unclear that relation between business and contribution of the company and characteristic factors. That is why this study focuses one company (Fuji Xerox), and observe the activity. The case study used Fuji Xerox’s home medical care support which was carried out as part of the reconstruction activities for regions. The project was started from a free loan of Fuji Xerox’s multi-function printer which is one of their volunteer activities for disaster areas while the volunteer team member contacted the director who was the local home medical care diagnosis place in Iwate prefecture. They developed the system which adopted the user-friendly operation and a new function for managing the total information of the patients and progress to new business. The study found three factors that achieved the project. First, the activity was started by the purpose of the solution to local problem. Second, the contact to a wide range of people concerned was carried out at the high frequency at the research stage for the home medical system. Third, the establishment of the professional organizations. First and second factors were able to find the solution of reproduction for the local community beyond the disaster reconstruction support. Third factor was able to apply a function of the management to volunteer activity, and achieve to continue the project and progress other new activities.

Institutional Determinism such as ‘oversocialized’ individuals (Tolbert and Zucker, 1996, pp. 176) regards institution as fixed. Strategic Constructionism such as ability of make rules (Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978, pp. 49) regards institution as not fixed and changeable. This paper argues integrating these two contradicting concepts of institution. Berger and Luckmann (1966) discuss the process of constructing institutions, and conclude that social order is an ongoing human product. Institution can never be fixed. However, as DiMaggio and Powell (1983) argue, isomorphism occurs under the pressure of an institution as if it was fixed and De Facto. Examining the history of the Japanese commercial key TV stations in Tokyo and the principle of excluding multiple ownership of the media, it is clear that any institutions were never fixed, but, for some periods, looked fixed because the firms complied with the institutions, and isomorphism occurred among the stations. Though there have been always ongoing interactions between the firms and the institutions.

This study focuses on the user community with the perspective of web platform. Although, much more research is done in this field, the context and purpose is not unified. We reviewed recent literature about peer production and net platform, and provide an unified viewpoint. Meanwhile, we found little research has been discussed the relationship between platform and type of user community, even though, it is a quite crucial issue. In this paper, we use the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) to achieve the comparison analysis on different web platforms with the cases of video sharing sites (Youtube and niconico). As a result, we found that the user communities take different forms between two different platforms. Also, communication patterns and the performance of the user communities with the characteristic of productive activity, are influence from interface design among the users. For empirical contribution, according to control design interface among the users, enterprises can manage peer group gathering on the web platform.

Flat organizational structures have been attracting interest as an alternative of hierarchical organizations. It is often argued that a flat structure enables quick environmental adaption, and reduced communication cost. However, the operation and management process of an internet media company demonstrates an opposite finding. In this case study, the interaction based structure entailed a higher communication cost because communication paths within the organization are undetermined, and equality among members requires persuasion and understanding. In exchange, this structure improves organizational performance such as increasing the sales. Therefore, the essence of flat organization is not non-hierarchical structure, but to require an account to members strictly and set minimal regulations not to inhibit interactions among members. The main purpose of this paper is to understand and describe how interaction based organization operates and manages itself. Furthermore, it also seeks to illustrate how management and creative processes are undertaken by knowledge workers. For this purpose, K. Weick’s concept of “organizing” and “retrospect” could be useful for observers, as well as members of the organization. Likewise, N. Luhmann’s autopoietic system theory could be also useful to understand how an organization creates its identity and cooperation in spite of the fluidity stemming from free communication paths and minimal rules and regulations inside flat organizations.

This paper describes the R&D productivity of a biopharmaceutical company, with emphasis on separation of the research and development processes. We employ Amgen Inc. as an example of an independent biologic company. We measured the research process technology in terms of patents on underlying core technology, and the development process in terms of patents concerning final product manufacturing or marketing. Using regression analysis and case study method, the results offer three implications that contrast with previous results from chemical synthesis pharmaceutical companies: (i) Economies of scale may exist in both research and development processes; (ii) Persistency is more markedly seen in the development process than in the research process; (iii) Research and development processes tends to diverge. The results are compatible with forecasts based on contingency theory.

This study considered the emerging process of new industries through the analysis of electronic paper technology differences and its market changes, and the organization and strategy of E Ink Corporation. Xerox Pal Alto Research launched the electronic paper technology called twist ball early 1970, and after that, a variety of electronic paper technologies have been developed by several companies. A Characteristic of electronic paper technologies is memory effect of images; it means it is possible to display images semi-permanently without power supply. This technology was expected not only mere next generation display technology but also innovative technology applied to the application to replace the paper media. From early 2000, this technology utilized in e-books like Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle, and it was called the electronic paper first year period twice and display market expected explosive industry growth. Contrary to market expectation, the diffusion of technology was sluggish. And now electronic paper market has been oligopoly state by E-ink Corporation and its market growth has slowed.

The diffusion of portfolio career employment system in South Korea and Japan has been recognized for organizational researchers and practitioners in terms of change of traditional human resource management. However, conflict problems in workplace between existing employees and portfolio career newcomers have not been empirically examined. This study focused on portfolio career newcomer’s workplace adjustment though the lens of organizational identity theory. The effects of proactive behavior of portfolio career newcomers on their turnover intention are examined through the mechanism of workplace ostracism. Moreover, the interaction effects with employee-organization relationship and proactive behavior on workplace ostracism are examined. Also, the interaction effects with their status in organization and workplace ostracism on their turnover intention are examined. Using moderated mediation model, hypotheses are tested with a sample of 261 portfolio career newcomers in South Korea. Results show that portfolio career newcomer’s workplace adjustment depends on not only interpersonal interactions at workplace, but also organizational contexts in which they are embedded.

In Previous Studies of the music industry, the "culture industry systems approach" has been presented as an analysis framework to the uncertainty of music business. However, the analysis framework to the complexity after entering in the 21st century is not yet presented. So, this paper presents "configuration approach" as an analysis framework to the complexity of music business, and discusses the usefulness of configuration approach from a theoretical and empirical side by using the case study of Avex Group Holdings Inc. with use of "organigraph" which is the analytical tool of configuration approach. As a result of the theoretical and empirical examination, this paper proves that configuration approach is an analysis framework which overcome three theoretical problems, "totality", "organizational change" and "strategic choice" which culture industry systems approach holds, and that configuration approach is useful to the organizational analysis of complexity.

This study takes companies that have set up offices that perform similar tasks in various regions and analyzes the determinants of altruistic knowledge-sharing between knowledge holders and those in other business groups with whom they are unacquainted. The results confirmed that factors in individuals’ altruistic behavior characteristics in everyday workplace activities determine altruistic knowledge-sharing behaviors external to one’s place of work. It was also shown that past experience of personnel transfers such as secondment to affiliates, which provides opportunities for gaining professional expertise, as well as the possession of more supervisory authority have a positive influence on individuals’ altruistic behavior characteristics in everyday workplace activities. Moreover, personality traits that favor interpersonal relationships with individuals are a given among the factors in individual altruistic behavior characteristics in everyday workplace activities, and it was identified that the group (or workplace) to which one belongs stimulated by interpersonal relationships has a positive influence on personality traits. This study identified the determining factors that give rise to altruistic knowledge-sharing behavior toward unfamiliar individuals outside the framework of a compartmentalized organization (or toward the overall organization).

The purpose of this study is to construct new research agenda for corporate venturing (CV) in the non-profit sector. Despites the growing number of CV phenomena world widely in the academia organization, researchers have overseen the importance and devoted little efforts to examine functions of academic spin-off from the perspective of CV theory. In order to clarify the role of CV for the public research organization, we conduct the comparative four case studies of CV in the case of RIKEN. RIKEN is founded in 1917, Japan's largest comprehensive research institution renowned for most high-quality research in a diverse range of scientific disciplines. This paper reports preliminary findings in our case studies of RIKEN spin-offs for understanding the distinctive characters comparing the other CV types such as academic spin-offs. We examined the four CV companies in the points of organizational institution level, technology domain and executive team level, and knowledge hub system. As the results, we delineate new research framework composed by two axes; liberal and competitive institutional environment and CV accelerator system. Although each four case studies have several unique characters based on different technology domains, we could identify the common patterns in their commercialization process. Our research agenda have to be examined by the longitudinal approach in the future research.

Value creation is composed of experience value and functional value. Experience value is subjective and will likely differ with each customer. However, creating experience value is necessary and important because the market requires manufacturing companies to regularly develop products. In this research, I take as an example the development process of a massage chair, and discuss how the experience value of a product is interpreted by developers and commercialized. Massage, which is a function of the product, may result in experience values such as “stress care” and “healing”. Findings from interviews indicate that, to provide comfort and relaxation for massage chair users, a sense of “momi-aji” should be realized in the product. Momi-aji is the overall sense of comfort, not only from the massage itself but also including the appropriate degree of firmness in the sofa, the angle of reclining, and another functions. The momi-aji of each company’s product is mainly realized by the automatic massage course, and the automatic course is considered to be the product’s greatest value. To create a more comfortable and relaxing momi-aji, a fusion of hardware and software is important. All massage chair companies aim to develop products with which all customers feel comfortable. To develop a product that provides this momi-aji to all users, a relationship between the testers and the designers is required. It is considered that, if the value of the product is unclear, designers may tend to design excessively. It is a role of the testers to control excessiveness, to improve the consistency between the value temporarily assumed in the development stage and the values demanded by the market. Experience values, such as momi-aji, become established through evaluation in the market. From such a point, the value during the pre-release process is considered not established, and development is based on values assumed by the designers and testers. Conversion of experience values to functional values is realized by repeated evaluation and adjustment of the values. At that time, the testers need to match the characteristics of the customers of the product target.

Technology development has been regarded as an exclusive field for engineers and scientists. However, the latest case study discovered that industrial designers can contribute even in natural science research. In addition to that, linking cognitive study on inventing process and nature of industrial designing, there is one common theoretical ground, which can bring qualified technologies. In this paper, we test the link between an enrollment of industrial designers in inventing activities and their impacts on inventing outcomes using patent applications to Japan Patent Office from a Japanese electronics manufacturer. By connecting each inventor’s individual affiliation information collected from the design patent, we constructed 75,932 invention-level data points for inventor affiliations to use in our regression analysis. Our analysis reveals a significant contribution by industrial designers to high-impact inventions. Our estimation result shows that an enrollment of industrial designers increases forward citations of a focal patent application by an average of 11%, and at the same time, it causes a delay of growth in forward citations. On the other hand, the theoretical common ground has no significant impact. We can interpret that these contributions of industrial designers come from their latent demand-oriented thinking, which concurs with recent design studies. This study provides a theoretical linkage between industrial designers and technology development.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of goal setting in innovation efforts on resource allocation, in order to clarify the differences between companies that proactively allocate resources for their business’s innovation efforts and companies that do not. In this study, innovation is not limited to research and development efforts. It includes a series of efforts to create new value through innovative methods that will lead to solutions to issues of society and customers, and to gain cash through the penetration and diffusion of such methods to society and customers. When a company promotes innovation efforts, legitimacy of resource allocation is crucial for its realization. If necessary resources are not acquired, it will not yield commercialization regardless of how exceptional the ideas are, and the company will fall into “death valley” . What are the reasons behind the existence of companies that proactively allocate resources to their innovation efforts and companies that do not? If “pragmatic legitimacy” can be ensured in innovation efforts, resource allocation will become possible. Innovation cannot be realized without both the acquisition of resources from inside and outside of the organization and legitimacy of the activity. If there are any means to achieve legitimacy of the innovation efforts in the most comprehensive manner in a short span, they will be through the decision making and direction setting of top management. When skillful top management incorporates innovation efforts into business strategy on a mid-long term basis and sets organizational goals, such efforts will be recognized internally and innovation efforts will then be “legitimized.” As a result, the possibilities for resource acquisition will increase. This study clarifies whether or not setting goals by top management legitimizes their innovation efforts, which will then lead to resource allocation.

This paper examines tripartite relationship between industry, patent firm and patent attorney. The purpose of this research is to analyze how transaction structure between companies and patent firms affects career switch of patent attorneys. We collect data of transaction between top 50 research oriented companies and top 50 patent firms in Japan and also data of the profiles of 1,960 patent attorneys who belong to the patent firms. Our final dataset covers about 50% of all published patents in 2013. Based on quantitative analysis, we observe three major findings as follows. Firstly, the transactions between companies and patent firms are fixed and long-term. 70.9% of these transaction relationships have not changed for five years. Secondly, 29.6% of the patent attorneys have switched their career in five years. However, only 18.4 % of them have gone into private practice. That means only 4.7% of all patent attorneys have set up their own patent firm. Thirdly, these patent attorneys lost their clients after they have been independent from the top 50 patent firms. In sum, it is relatively difficult for patent attorneys to start new transactions with top 50 companies and to establish their own patent firm. That may suppress their willingness to be independent.